Congress ministers thrash SP protestors over Rahul

November 14, 2011 20:41 IST

Two Union ministers and two senior Uttar Pradesh Congress legislators got together and roughed up a handful of Samajwadi Party activists who attempted to stage a black flag demonstration against Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on his arrival in Allahabad on Monday afternoon.

UP member of Legislative Assembly Pramod Tiwari and member of Legislative Council Naseeb Pathan started beating up the protestors after they broke through the security cordon. Union ministers Jitin Prasad and RPN Singh also got involved in the scuffle. Two of the protestors fell flat on the ground after being overpowered and were kicked by the Congress leaders. The police immediately stepped in and took them in custody.

"We wanted to express our protest against Rahul Gandhi who had failed to keep his word of holding student union elections at the Allahabad University, which is controlled by the Centre," said one of the protestors Ashok Yadav , before he was whisked away in a police vehicle.

Taking up for Congress workers, senior party leader and Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said, "Well, since the protestors suddenly stormed into the helipad area, someone had to stop them. How would you know what they intended to do. For all you know they could have been terrorists. So, whatever the Congress leaders did was justified."